The rigging that the crew used is also very cool. You can see in the video that they are shooting Nikon and using a large gliding dolly combined with an arm/crane to help with the fluid movement. They used a similar motion control setup when shooting the autumn mountain landscape, Japanese cherry blossoms in bloom and a sand storm in the Sahara (see them all here) the more well known of Planet Earth’s time lapses.

[...] The rigging that the crew used is also very cool. You can see in the video that they are shooting Nikon and using a large gliding dolly combined with an arm/crane to help with the fluid movement. They used a similar motion control setup when shooting the autumn mountain landscape, Japanese cherry blossoms in bloom and a sand storm in the Sahara (see them all here) the more well known of Planet Earth’s time lapses. (via Wanken) [...]

This video nearly crushed my soul, until I realized it was LIFE not Planet Earth. The thing that I loved about the Planet Earth series, what amazed me above and beyond the beautiful photography, is that they shot it in the field. The crew didn’t unearth plants, drag them into a studio, and casually photograph them.

The Planet Earth series is an example of Man adapting to Nature, instead of the other way around (which has been our M.O. for quite some time, and with population and technology expansion has begun to cramp the planet’s style a bit).

The shots from the LIFE crew look great, and I like that they actually did shoot a bit in the field. But despite their hard work, I believe the means add a lot to the ends. Planet Earth is so beautiful for the fact that it wasn’t shot in a studio. It was shot on planet Earth.

Seeing this video was like learning Santa Claus wasn’t real all over again. It reminded me of losing my original disillusionment that documentaries are true to life. After high school, I learned about the biases and shortcuts that go into any production. Planet Earth amazed me for it’s apparent lack thereof. It’s too bad not everyone has caught up yet, but I suppose I shouldn’t hold humans to such a high standard. We’re only human.